This invention relates to fasteners for securing items such as garments to the body of a user, and more particularly to a reusable fastener having a pad adherable to a user""s body for attaching garments directly to a user""s body.
A wide variety of garment fasteners exist for use in clothing and undergarments. Most currently used garment fasteners involve the use of a shoulder strap and/or back strap to secure clothing to a user""s body. However, occasions arise that such a strap-type fastener is esthetically unpleasant when used, or is restrictive to the user. Regardless of the size, shape, or color, strap-type garment fasteners still have visible straps which are often undesirable, especially when worn with strapless gowns or similar garments.
Strapless and backless bras and self-supporting breast cups are known in the art. Normally, a strapless and backless bra or self-supporting breast cups are used when wearing a revealing garment such as a wedding gown, evening gown, swim suit or tank top. However, none of the presently known strapless and backless bras provide a one piece bra that can be worn again, without reapplying new two-sided adhesive tape to both the bra and the body of the user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,952 to Valentin discloses a strapless and backless bra which adheres to a person""s body using two sided tape. The tape is not reusable and must be removed and replaced before the bra can be worn again once the bra is removed from the user""s body.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,611 to Noble discloses self-supporting breast cups that adhere to the body using double sided tape. The Noble patent discloses a tape that is renewable or reusable by reapplying a liquid adhesive to the tape strips and allowing it to dry prior to reusing the tape.
Based on the foregoing, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a fastener for attaching a garment or other item to the body of a user that improves over, or overcomes the problems and drawbacks of the prior art.
The present invention provides a reuseable fastener for attaching a garment or other item to a user including a pad having an adhesive on one side and a first fastener member attached to an opposing side thereof, the adhesive being adherable to a user""s body for attaching the pad thereto. A second fastener member attachable to a garment portion or other item is also provided, the second fastener member being releasably coupleable to the first fastener member such that a garment or other item can be attached to a user""s body. For example, a garment having such a second fastener member attached thereto can be worn by a user by adhering the pad to the user""s body via the adhesive, and, after donning the garment, coupling the first and second fastener members one to the other for securing the garment to the body. The garment being removable by decoupling the first and second fastener members and removing the garment from the body. Accordingly, the garment can be removed or reworn a plurality of times as long as the pad remains adhered to the body.
The present invention is applicable to reusable, strapless and backless bras, or other garments including swim suits or the like that can be secured directly to a person""s skin or body. Additionally, the present invention fastener could be used to attach a watch, earrings, jewelry or other items or accessories to a user""s body. For clarity, the invention is described herein as a fastener for use with a reusable, strapless and backless bra, however, it should be recognized that the present invention is equally applicable to many other garments or items.
The present invention fastener on a reusable, strapless and backless bra overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing support for the breasts while being easily reusable and comfortable to wear. The present invention when applied to a reusable, strapless and backless bra includes a bra having two cups each having inner and outer sides thereof. The inner sides of the cups are connected together by a bridge connector. The bra includes a wing portion positioned proximate to the outer side of each cup and a female snap fastener positioned distally on each wing portion. Also provided is a pair of adhesive pads having a complementary male snap fastener attached to a soft cloth backing, and a hypoallergenic, pressure sensitive dermal adhesive on a body side of the pads.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description of the invention and drawings, which follows.